First presidential debate held ahead of June 18 elections

The first debate ahead of Iran's presidential election on June 18 was held on Saturday.

The debate between seven candidates was aired live by state TV.

Out of the seven candidates allowed to run by the Guardian council, five are hardliners, with head of judiciary Ebrahim Raisi being the most prominent.

Raisi competed against current president Hassan Rouhani years ago, winning over 16 million votes.

Moderate allies of Rouhani are represented by the former head of the central bank, Abdonnasser Hemati.

Hemmati crticized Raisi and former revolutionary guard Mohsen Rezai, urging people to vote for him even if they were reluctant to participate in the election.

"Many people think that the result of the election is already decided, but we can change the scene and the result. What I want you to do and you are capable of doing is to vote and if you want to complain about the current situation, do it through voting for me."

Two more debates are scheduled before the vote.